Is there a connection between environmental conservation and good business practices? The Nature Conservancy thinks so, and it wants to recognize companies that excel in both.
The Nature Conservancy and Journal Publications Inc. announced last week they are accepting nominations for the first-ever Investing in Nature Awards, a statewide program to honor Pennsylvania companies that have adopted policies and programs that both improve the bottom line and contribute to conservation.
An independent panel of judges will evaluate nominees and chose finalists in seven categories: Energy Conservation Initiatives, Natural Resource Management, Green Building Design/Construction/Planning, Environmental Education Initiatives, Innovative New Environmental Technologies, Sustainable Agriculture, and Ecotourism.
The idea, says Patrick von Keyserling, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Marketing Resource Center East, is to recognize conservation initiatives that can be replicated by other companies.
“We want to find the best of the best that other organizations can look to and say, if we implement that strategy we’d not only be improving the environment, but also our bottom line,” Keyserling says.
By partnering with Journal Publications, the Nature Conservancy is demonstrating the connection between environmental stewardship and sound business, says Keyserling.
“This partnership is a good example of leveraging business and conservation,” he says. “It’s allowing us to reach the business community in ways we could not previously, to inform them that there are groups like the Nature Conservancy that can use conservation as a tool against poverty and as away to develop new industries like carbon cap and trade.”
Up to 35 finalists will be recognized, and the winners in each category will be announced at an awards banquet on April 13, 2009, at the Hilton Harrisburg. For more information and to download a nomination form, go here or here.
Source: Patrick von Keyserling, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Marketing Resource Center East
Writer: John Davidson
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